My problem is that this is, again, a small minority using the court system to shove their opinion down the throats of the vast majority. In my opinion it takes a neurotic person to feel wronged by other people saying "under God" out loud, when they aren't required to say it themselves.

I think that we should look into wrongs against minorities, and fix them whenever possible, but catering to the oversensitive and deranged is a waste of money and time.

amen!  verily, thou gettest an insightful

the people with the thinnest skin are those christians who spend all their time trying to sneak one past the constitution.  its not as if they arent part of the cultural majority (there's no question america is a christian culture altho it's supposed to be a secular civil state) and it would be damn near impossible for the small minority to persecute them or their religion.  they are so bound and determined to force their faith down everyones' throats, theyre willing--if not eager--to trash the very precise structures created to protect their right to worship as they please by the most brilliant men of what may well be the most brilliant generation of statesmen in human history.

what's ironic (altho hardly amusing except in an extremely sardonic sense) is the most rabid of these are often the same people who whine the most about their perception of hypersensitivity on the part of ethnic minorities who--as a group--suffered centuries of horrific mistreatment and are still frequently negatively stereotyped (see tractor chick's blog about black doctors for a perfect example).  there's a hell of a lotta difference between being thought of as subhuman and not being permitted to erect a religious display at a publicly owned facility.

of course it doesnt apply.  our government should not--as madison noted--have any cognizance of religion.  it's not necessary for the state to function properly.  more importantly, religious involvement in government or vice versa interferes with the functions of government and invites conflict of interest.  i have no problem with people believing anything they want or engaging in whatever rituals they wish as long as they comply with state civil and criminal codes.  furthermore, im not under any order or divine injunction to spread my beliefs or insist that others conform their behavior to my moral code.    

i didnt say anything of the sort.  i didnt say everyone does anything--or anything even close to that.   it has nothing to do with seeing things my way.   im certainly not the one posting the flurry of hysterical 'christianity is being persecuted' alarms that have been appearing here for the past 6 weeks, bemoaning vicious attacks on ancient christmas traditions that date back possibly as far as 150 years (of which, the candycane is so ridiculous, its close to being heretical).   

id rather be right than be president.  

I understand your point moderateman, I don't say the pledge, not because I'm an atheist, but because it's worshipping false idols.  Sure I get some strange looks about it, but I'm not going to sue those people because they look at me funny for not saying the pledge.  Of course, someone did sue once to get me the right to not have to say the pledge, but that's not what this fellow is suing for.  Oh, and by the way, I do stand and salute the flag.

Cheers

drmiller, I invite you to tell the Jehovah's Witnesses they are wrong the next time they knock on your door.  Or a number of other organized religious groups.  But then again, knowing you, you would simply claim that their God was not your god.

Cheers

I have looked up the words mentioned, and I'm telling you it doesn't matter.  JWs and others firmly believe that taking an oath to an inanimate object is a form of idolatry, forbidden within the 10 commandments.  As for anyone going against your "posting" you are sadly mistaken, very few states bother to arrest someone knocking on your door for criminal tresspass, it's just not worth their time.

Cheers